Kroger Field ranked second-worst home field in SEC by CBS Sports

Are you looking for a reason to be pissed off on this beautiful Saturday afternoon? David Cobb of CBS Sports just gave you one, taking shots at The Kroge for no good reason.

We know Kroger Field, we love Kroger Field. When that place gets jumping, it’s jumping, particularly for evening kickoffs under the bright lights. And the atmosphere continues to improve with recent and upcoming upgrades to the jumbotron, ribbon video boards and lighting while also replacing the turf field ahead of the 2023 season. It’s a very good product working toward becoming great.

How does it stack up against SEC competition? If you ask CBS Sports, not very well. In fact, Cobb listed Kroger Field as the second-worst stadium in the conference, good for No. 15 overall following the new additions of Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium and Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium for the Sooners and Longhorns, respectively.

What doesn’t he like about The Kroge? Well, the name, mostly. And the on-field product, singling out Kentucky’s home record the past two — yes, two — seasons.

Heck of a sample size there, Dave.

“Any program that sells the naming rights of its football stadium to a grocery store chain is punting on this competition,” he wrote. “Kentucky’s 9-6 home mark over the past two seasons is nothing special, and UK is just 2-6 against SEC visitors over the past two seasons.”

The only school behind Kentucky on the list? Vanderbilt, whose ongoing renovations to modernize FirstBank Stadium “will simply make the venue even more appealing for opposing fans looking to enjoy a weekend in Nashville.”

Brutal, but to be expected for what is widely considered the worst fanbase and atmosphere in the SEC. You knew they were going to be at the very bottom of the list. The rankings actually start once you get past No. 16, a 1-15 group of competitors.

Is Kentucky deserving of being at the bottom of that list? Certainly the riveting fact-based analysis will justify others being above the Wildcats, right? Let’s take a peek.

14. Missouri

Since joining the SEC in 2012, Missouri has made strides to get Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field on par with other SEC venues. If the Tigers had pulled off the upset against No. 1 Georgia in 2022, perhaps the venue would rank higher on the list. Alas, they fell 26-22 and narrowly missed out on a monumental home victory.

Wow, they should hang a banner for that in Columbia. “Almost beat Georgia that one time” is quite the feat.

13. Ole Miss

If we were ranking the best pregame scenes, Ole Miss would land significantly higher on the list because of The Grove’s deserved reputation as a must-see tailgating destination. A 19-2 home mark over the last three seasons is impressive, but the vibe inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium is more genteel than daunting when compared to its SEC competitors. 

“Tailgating is fun here and they’ve cruised through the home schedule over the past three years, but it’s not a scary place to play. Vibes outside the stadium are great, though.”

Sheesh, can’t argue with that. And again, what is up with these random sample sizes? Glad we could conveniently leave out Kentucky’s 6-1 home record in 2021, the 7-2 slate in 2019 and 6-1 in 2018.

12. Arkansas

When Arkansas is rocking and the hogs are called, it’s a beast that can cap out above some of the others on this list. But the Razorbacks are a pedestrian 15-11 at home under coach Sam Pittman after stumbling to a 3-4 home record last season. A couple of those losses were of the non-competitive variety, and the wins were against Western Carolina, Kent State and FIU.

Oh, so the Razorbacks get the benefit of the doubt during a down season, but others don’t? Truly awesome stuff.

How about the top of the list? LSU and Alabama aren’t surprises at Nos. 1 and 2, but how about Florida at No. 3? Kentucky’s won there in two of its past three trips to Gainesville, the Gators taking at least two home losses in back-to-back seasons under Billy Napier.

“However, it will take more than a couple of years to change Ben Hill Griffin Stadium’s reputation as a nightmare venue for opponents,” Cobb wrote. “The Gators went 32-2 inside ‘The Swamp’ from 2005-09 during Urban Meyer’s heyday as coach.”

WE’RE NOW TALKING ABOUT 2005 THROUGH 2009?! I give up.

Check out the full list if you’d like. Or don’t.

We’ll see you at Kroger Field this fall — because we’ve actually been to the venue to know what it’s like.